Hardboiled, Noir and Unicorns –

Ryan Sayles

Flash fiction doesn’t leave a lot of room for build-up, so it’s best to start by going for the throat and seeing where it leads. In these eighteen stories Ryan Sayles does just that. He turns on a dim light and leads the reader down an already claustrophobic path.

Active shooter event? Check. Ugly, failed relationships? Check. Dope fiends making smart decisions? Check. People seeking out roadkill because that’s the deepest relationship they can handle? Check. Putting on a soiled Easter Bunny costume to say goodbye the hard way to your former office colleagues who all foolishly thought they had the last laugh? Check and double check.

Each story is like an unmarked pill; just swallow it and see what happens. C’mon. It’ll be fun.